


The Dragoon's Betrayal

by Keyblader41996



Category: Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy, Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Genre: Betrayal, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 00:29:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8775985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keyblader41996/pseuds/Keyblader41996
Summary: Kain betrays the warriors of Cosmos, but some of them aren't going down without a fight.





	1. Bartz

**Author's Note:**

> This was the very first fanfic I ever wrote. I wrote it while I was a freshman in high school. It's about exactly how Kain took out each warrior in the 12th cycle and put them to sleep for the 13th.

In the short time that he'd been in the war, Bartz could say with confidence that he explored every inch and every corner of this world.

There were some really fun world fragments to visit, and there were some really creepy world fragments. No matter what, though, Bartz could never hate another world as much as he hated the Chaos Shrine. Not even the Rift. At least in the Rift it was bright and spacey, despite the heights. The Chaos Shrine specifically had a creepiness all of its own. Here, the purple sky was blotched with grey patches and glittering black specks. It loomed over him threateningly, dangerously low, as if it would reach down and snatch him up if he stood in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The nervousness made his chest tight, and his stomach turned. Bartz wrung his hands against it, wishing he could keep running. He should've known when he agreed to race Zidane that he would come here, and he should've paced himself to compensate, but the excitement had gotten to him. He had to stop and catch his breath. He panted in short gasps, slowly walking through, taking in the scenery (or lack thereof). An eerie wind swept across the world, carving through the fibers of his clothes like a knife. He shivered.

"These aren't like the winds I know. . . "

Back where he came from, as unclear as that place was, he remembered the winds to be free and serene, the guides of wayward travelers and ships. Here they felt . . . tormented. Like the desperate struggles of many were carried on them. It made him edgy, the entire place did.

Bartz's breath and heart calmed to a slow and comfortable pace as he hopped a wide gap to the center of the realm where the floor went unsupported. He took care to keep his eyes up, and avoided looking down the dizzying height to the floor below. He scanned the area, but the grey chair at the edge of the realm held his gaze.

"I wonder who sits there. I bet they're a jerk. Nobody who sits on a throne in a place like this is a good guy."

He summoned his good luck charm, a feather from a chocobo he had known, but whose name he couldn't remember. It soothed him; its touch always calmed him when he was uneasy. And it truly seemed to be lucky! He'd been in way too many close calls with manikins for it to be a coincidence anymore.

Bartz cast away the feather as another breeze whistled between the columns below him. Putting his finger in his mouth, he licked it and held it up to track its directed. At the same time it stopped.

"Hmm. I hate these winds. I better get outta here." He began to walk to the other side of the low wall that ran along the length of the shrine. "It's scary with nobody around. Hey, Zidane, wanna go look for a shop?" he asked to the open air.

"'Nah, man, I can't. I'm too busy chasing a goddess that I can't have, and a pink-haired beauty who'll never want me,'" he said, in perfect imitation of the Zidane's gruff tones.

"What about you, Squall?"

"' . . . '" He thought his Squall impression was the best.

"Alright, alright, fine. Cecil?"

"'Though I appreciate your offer, I must, regrettably, decline. However, should you need items, I am more than happy to part with a few of my potions.'"

"No, it's alright. Thanks. Kain?"

"'I shall accompany you to a Moogle, however, it is best you be prepared at all times. You never know when an enemy could appear-'"

A force like a freight train rocketed into his back and jerked him to the ground face first. His chest hit and collapsed, his air left him in a harsh _"Oof!_ " He winced against the gravel that cut his skin as he slid along the floor, coughing and gasping as his breath returned. Bartz heard the _clank_ of metal behind him but distantly, like hearing it through water. When a figure materialized in his vision, his confused mind didn't process what happened. He sat up, dazed and disoriented and stared at the person until his eyes focused.

"Oh! Kain! Boy, am I glad to see you! I just got attacked by something-" Kain swung the back of his lance like a bat and whacked Bartz in the chest. He fell back and rolled to a stop a few feet away, behind a section of broken wall.

" _Wha . . . ? ._  . . Kain?" He tried to clear away the stars that blinked across his vision, followed by an intense blackness. He laid there dizzily as a voice reached his ears.

"Kain!"

It was Lightning's voice. It spoke, closer to him, "Bartz, stay with us!"

Slowly, his incoherent thoughts slipped away as his consciousness left him.

"K-Kain . . . you . . . Why did you . . .?"


	2. Kain and Golbez

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **This chapter makes specific references to FFIV.**

Kain had never known a place quite like the Rift. He had never known any sort of 'abyss' to have crystal blue skies, lush grass everywhere, and a beautiful castle. Since when is a place like this the dumping ground for the rest of the realm? If he had to venture a guess, it was the traps down below. The masses of purples and blacks and silvers and every manner of color that swirled together. Always there. Always waiting. Ready for some poor soul to slip, or jump, or teleport in from one of the many gateways.

He stared at one in particular, writhing on top of itself. Sucking your life away and crushing you, then spitting you back out like a seed.

Tricky things, those traps were.

He let the trap occupy his interest for a few more moments before a popping sound on one of the other stone platforms caught his eye. White pulses of bursting energy crackled and sparked in the air around a dark swirling aura of purple. Someone was going to teleport through there. He'd be ready for them. Kain crouched into a Jump, feeling his muscles tense with the charge. With a swift, powerful push off the ground, he quickly peaked and descended onto the platform. Lance at the ready for whoever came out.

Black and gold armor appeared out of the mess, sending glints and glares in every direction from the sun. He looked around, calmly regarding Kain with a nod before glancing all around him.

"Looking for someone?"

"Are we alone?" He took a few steps towards Kain, but when Kain placed his lance at the ready, Golbez halted his advance. Still, he towered over the six foot Kain, and probably weighed three times as much not including his armor, which he somehow hauled around all day.

"What do you want?" Kain asked. He still made Kain uneasy, despite his decision to trust him. Something volatile sparked inside Kain's heart every time he looked at him. Just so Golbez didn't get any ideas about their implied camaraderie, he injected as much flatness and coldness into his tone as possible.

"I know what you did to Bartz."

"Do you?" Terse. Rude. Succinct. 

Golbez chuckled darkly. "A traitor amongst the heroes of harmony! And found by Exdeath, no less," he said, with a sweep of his hand at the name of the other villain. "Naturally, word would travel fast. Especially when one as benevolent as Bartz was . . . incapacitated."

A cold fear gnawed at Kain's heart, making his whole chest go numb. " _What if I fell for a trick?_ " echoed in his mind, spreading the chill down his back. "What do you want from me? To remind me I've turned traitor? Tell me that I've turned all of my allies against me and played right into your hand?" He waved dismissively in Golbez's direction, not even bothering to look at him.

Golbez paused, drawing himself to full height. "Do you think so lowly of me?" he mumbled. His sounded so suddenly pathetic and deflated. But Kain didn't regret what he said, no matter what it did to Golbez's apparently fragile feelings. "This may come as a shock to you, Kain, but not all of us on Chaos' side sit and rub our hands together and constantly plan your demise." He sighed, turning out to look at the expanse of sky. "It upsets me that you don't know me better than that by now."

Golbez was trying to blame his distrust on the fact that Kain just didn't know him better? This was somehow Kain's fault that he had a poor opinion of Golbez, even after some of his memories returned of his treachery? "Are you mad? How dare you blame _me_ for not trusting you! How dare you say that you're not like the rest of them! How do you justify being summoned to Chaos' side? How do you justify telling me I need to strike down all of my friends?"

"And how do you justify attacking Bartz?"

"A test," he snarled.

"The chains of betrayal are heavy burdens to bear for merely testing out a theory. Especially for you." Golbez sighed, armor clinking together softly from the movement. "Perhaps it's better that you do not remember anything from our time in our Homeworld." Golbez looked at Kain, but it was impossible to tell what kind of emotions displayed on his face behind the helmet.

Kain remembered enough. The memories were incomplete, and the details were fuzzy, but Kain knew. He remembered the atrocities he committed while under Golbez's control. He remembered attacking his friends and kidnapping Rosa and stealing Crystals. All of his guilt and all of his faults left fractures in his life that would take years to repair. For the rest of history, while Cecil and Rosa's names were remembered with pride and admiration, his name would forever be synonymous with 'betrayal'. Because of Golbez. " _Everything I did was because of YOU!_ " he yelled to himself. But he didn't say it out loud. He didn't want Golbez to know he remembered. He didn't want Golbez to think he had that power over him. Instead, Kain's fists clenched so hard they shook.

The sheer ferocity of the attack, directed at such a dark and sensitive part of his heart, punched a hole straight through all of Kain's barriers. "You don't know me," he growled through his teeth. It felt good to say it out loud. It rooted the unease in his heart, ensuring that it wasn't going to go anywhere. "Don't presume to."

"You listened to me. Why did you decide to trust me?" He asked it like a rhetorical question. And Kain was grateful for it, because it meant he didn't have to answer it. He didn't _know_ why. He didn't trust Golbez. But the more he thought about what he said, the more the words made sense. It gradually became more and more apparent, in the world around them and in his companions. He couldn't look at his friends the same way anymore. The knowledge that they were trapped choked him and the guilt weighed heavy on his heart. "It's because you already know in your heart that it's true. And you've already accepted it-"

"I have accepted nothing!" He felt like Golbez was trying to infiltrate his emotions. He felt like Golbez was trying to get inside his head and read him like a book, or else get him to reveal something by himself. Either way, he didn't want anybody to know him like that. His thoughts were his own. Nobody else would use him for them.

"No matter," Golbez said, holding his palm up in a gesture of peace. "Your reasons for trusting me are your own. I didn't come here to taunt you, or belittle you. I am here to thank you, and to tell you that the decision you made was the right one."

"A self-proclaimed discarder of Discord is once again going to praise me for the slaughter of my friends?"

"Think of it what you will. I've come to aid you once again, and hopefully relieve some guilt you may possibly feel-"

" _Hmph_! 'Aid' me."

"Listen carefully. I say you made the right choice because you've chosen to fell your friends yourself, and not entrust their downfall to the manikins on the assumption they would be revived. In this world, the re-summoning of warriors is determined by the way they succumb to the cycle. Manikins will destroy warriors. Should a warrior be defeated by a manikin, they will be granted eternal death, unable to return to the cycle once more. Do you understand, Kain? There is no guarantee that warriors will fall to the cycle, and not to the manikins. When I revealed the knowledge of the cycle to you, I left once Cecil attacked. I realized almost immediately after I departed that I did not get the chance to even prove to you I was telling the truth, let alone discuss strategy with you. I had no way of knowing how you were going to react to the information or what your plan was to do with it. It was my luck that your decision aligned with the logistics of this place and not with the manikins."

So Golbez wasn't gloating. He was sincere.

"I want you to fell Cecil next. I want you to ensure he will return to this world for the next cycle. You must get to him before the manikins do - and it's only a matter of time. They are growing more and more numerous by the hour. I will assist you, should you need it."

"And with the others as well?-"

"Just. Cecil," he articulated slowly. "What befalls the other harmony warriors is of no consequence to me," he said, shaking his head. "My only request is that Cecil be safe."

Of course he wanted the same. Cecil was his best friend. " . . . Consider it done."

Golbez's shoulders visibly relaxed, like he had been holding his breath. His heavy armor clinked together softly with the movement. "Thank you. I can reward you-"

"No." Kain stared hard at the spot where Golbez's eyes should have been under the helmet, and despite Golbez not being able to see his eyes either, he still felt that Golbez was doing the same.

" . . . Very well. I take my leave." He turned to teleport, the clink-clink of his armor sounding almost like chains. "I will call to Cecil, and tell him to meet us where the moon's presence is strongest. There you will defeat him. My brother is smart, but naïve. He will come." Golbez lifted his hand and opened another portal. "Fare thee well, Kain." He placed his hand over his heart and bowed lightly. He stepped through, and it closed seamlessly behind him, leaving Kain to stare once again in to the open, blue sky.

That nagging doubt was still there. Could he trust Golbez? He had already risked his own safety to give Kain information, betraying his own deity and allies in Chaos. What would they do to him if they found out? How could Kain be sure Golbez wasn't a double agent, feeding information to him while sharing secrets and plans with Chaos and his followers? Did he dare wait and see what became of Bartz first? How detrimental would Kain's actions be to Cosmos if Golbez was lying?

" _You took a chance on me, just as much as I took a chance on you. I'm already in so deep, I may as well take another._ "

Kain began towards the Lunar Subterraine, doubt heave in his mind, and hope aching in his heart.

**Author's Note:**

> Dissidia is still one of my favorite Final Fantasy games. It introduced me to EVERY character and EVERY game - before it, I had only ever heard of FFX, FFXII, FFXIII, and FFVII. 
> 
> I'm still a fan!
> 
> Leave a comment if you have time!


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